Why We Believe That Asaph Is The King of Zim Hip Hop Right Now

Asaph has been an
interesting hip hop artist in Zimbabwe to watch. His rise has been exciting to
watch, and his sheer determination and bold resolve to be an important
figurehead in the game is reaping some nice dividends. Asaph is really talented,
and we strongly believe, although very much arguable, that Asaph is the king of
Zim Hip Hop right now.

Asaph’s work speaks
volumes of rebellion, heartbreaks, the city life and other pleasures of life.
The most interesting part about his music is how he is able to be in his
original self and tell amazing stories which shed light on Asaph’s passion with
music. He’s been all about Bulawayo, being very proud of his city and
glorifying it endlessly, while at the same time bringing to the fore the
hardships and other circumstances which the youth in Bulawayo face on a regular
basis.

When it comes to
telling life stories, everyday life stories, Asaph is impeccably good at this.
He does not do it just for the sake of doing it, but when can feel the deep
messages which he will be sending through to the listener. He is a source of
motivation for those who really feel to be who they want to be despite societal
pressure.

An important factor in
his work is how he is the son of pastors, and yet he is making enormous strides
in secular hip hop music. Much of his early work for example the first
Kingsvilla, dwell on the issue of him rebelling singing for the church and
deciding to be who really wanted to be. Even the second Kingsvilla had the
theme around religion. Being the son of religious leaders put a lot of pressure
on him as he was stuck in a battle of whether he must continue with the path of
the church or create his own path.

Another integral part
of Asaph’s music which makes his music so real and original is the issue of the
“burg life” or the city life. He is deep into the fast life of the city, a life
that is very much pleasurable but presents endless risks for those indulged in
it. The way he sings about the burg life makes his music feel very personal, as
this encompasses the major hardships and successes of that life.

Asaph has a gifted
voice indeed and this is evidenced by his alluring artistic skills that are not
possessed by most of the other rappers in the industry. If you get in deep with
his style of singing, you realize how much he is an enlightened rapper in
Zimbabwe, conscious with himself.

He has the ability to
bring a picture of the society, reality, and the ‘’city’’ (burg life) – which
are the main motifs in his lyrics. He wonderfully weaves all the societal
issues in society together with a brighter side of life, replete with hope.

The imagery itself is
a major component that other rappers are not able to convey in their messages.
And Asaph does pretty much good at this.
Lyrical richness is the vital treasure that makes his art unique, perfect,
and intriguing.

His lyrical content
conveys good stories, combined with the imagery he employs. Asaph is original as he does not focus much
about bragging with material things that don’t exist for the sake of bragging, as
the culture of the new trap drums, though some brag about the actual things
they have.

If one is to trace Asaph’s story, they would probably start with his EP, Diamonds Deserve Diamonds, and moving on to the first Kingsvilla album, then Kingsvilla 2 and also his 2017 album Twenty Five.

And also the Deep in the Burg album with his crew. Speaks their life.

His hit song, Mambo,
which topped charts for six weeks, is a declaration of triumph in the game, a
sign of victory on Asaph’s part; to say that he is now the Mambo (king) in Zim
Hip Hop and that his music is no longer confined to Bulawayo only but has the
attention of Harare as well (Bulawayo and Harare being the major seats of hip
hop in Zimbabwe).

Mambo is an attestation that all the hard-work from the early albums is now reaping fruits, and that he will revel in this success by cementing his place as a person deep with the burg life.

Asaph proved that he is the winner when he performed at Unplugged and also was the headline act at Shoko Festival 2018. He also headlined many other festivals and music shows.

Asaph has a story to tell and he is original about his origins and his lifestyle.

Asaph’s lyrics are
relatively clean, and yet portraying the wild city life they live.

He sings the general lifestyle that the youth have, so his music is motivating the audience and it instinctively sways the audience to believe his voice; and rappers lack this personal approach.

Greatness is there because he conveys a two dimensional life of the good and bad, so he portrays a different picture on his music as it employs a self-awareness moral aspect whereas other rappers only sing about one thing specifically.

Asaph does not concentrate only on celebrating his success but he rather concentrates on a deeper analysis of life – the burdens that happen, the problems of the city life, how to keep on having success, how to be jovial on top of the breakdowns in life.

Asaph conveys his love for Bulawayo, family, and friends which shows his ability to convey his art to support that.

A lot of rappers are not able to picture the city life, and also do not portray the love for their city in their lyrics.

Asaph is the gifted
voice of the youth. His story is relatable especially in this age, and his
music starts to feel as if it is yours too. That’s the impact which his lyrics
have when you consider them on a deeper level and not only on the superficial
level. He has the ability to portray his life in the city, while at the same
time showing the life of other people in the city too.

He has incredibly done well in terms of showing the point that Bulawayo has immense hip hop talent that is able to impact others in a good way.

We are also going to talk about how he won 3 awards at the Zim Hip Hop Awards 2018, where he walked away with the Best Collab, Best Song and Best Video (all from the hit, Mambo).

Another aspect we like
about his music is how he motivates the youth to work hard, to be on their
grind despite the difficulties. The way he raises serious issues about the
country’s ailing economy for example unemployment is also pretty much striking.

With a religious touch
infused in his music, he ultimately shows the point that after all you do, divine
guidance is still needed. Well at least that’s what he believes as shown by his
music.

We strongly believe in
2019 Asaph will further cement his newfound recognition and bless us with more
music which tells amazing yet very deep stories.